With five pieces of silverware up for grabs at the start of the 2014/15 campaign, Arsenal fans were again left wondering whether they could mount a more serious title challenge in the league or simply finish in their usual fourth spot.
While there were reasons to be optimistic with a third place finish, as well as two pieces of silverware (FA Cup and Community Shield), is it really good enough? On the one hand, breaking records to retain the FA Cup and securing automatic qualification for the Champions League in some ways exceeded expectations of what some had expected from our season. We also went on an impressive unbeaten run in the league and managed to secure some wins over big clubs but I still can't help but feel we should've done better. On paper we have a decent squad, if everyone is injury free, which is easier said than done, but we are still missing a few pieces to complete the Gunners' jigsaw. Despite this I still feel we should've done better than third even though that was a sign of progress. We did, however, seemingly throw away second place and to finish 12 points behind champions Chelsea isn't really good enough.
In this blog I will look back in more detail at the five competitions we competed in before looking at individual players, areas of improvement, and my own take on an end of season awards in the coming weeks.
In what was a mixed season it is important to remember that there were in fact some positives for us this season, so where better to start than looking back at our run to FA Cup success.
FA CUP
The fact we went all the way and won the competition for the second year running was an unbelievable bonus but, whoever is in the final, I always love the FA Cup. Some people say it isn't what it used to be but I still think it holds as much magic as ever. So it was to my delight that I was actually able to attend one of the matches in our cup run, especially as I am not able to get to too many games. Round three saw us host Hull, in a repeat of the 2014 final, and even then I had a good gut feeling that this could again be our year. A Per Mertesacker header put us in front before a delightful strike from Alexis Sanchez completed a 2-0 victory. It was a rather routine victory in the end and seeing the game live and witnessing just how good Sanchez is in the flesh was undoubtedly the highlight of the day.
Goals from Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil, along with a fine Tomas Rosicky volley, ensured a 3-2 victory at Brighton in round four. But, for me, the highlight of round four came away from an Arsenal game. The results of the previous days games were among the most enjoyable in recent years as both Chelsea and Manchester City were on the wrong end of cup shocks. Chelsea threw away a two-goal lead at home to lose 4-2 to lower league side Bradford and I can't deny the fact that result filled me with a lot of happiness.
Olivier Giroud was our saviour in round five as his brace gave us a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough but it was the quarter final where we were to have one of our sweetest moments of the season. Although the final was obviously the most important, beating Manchester United in their own back yard in the quarter final wasn't too far behind for me. We are often criticised for not being able to get enough positive results against our fellow big boys but we well and truly proved a point, as well as ending our Old Trafford hoodoo, with our 2-1 win at United. Wayne Rooney cancelled out Nacho Monreal's opener before that many Danny Welbeck scored against his former club to give us victory and passage into the semi-final.
Having got through that tough test you would've thought a semi-final against Championship outfit Reading would provide few problems for us. I was, however, fully aware that arguably our hardest game of the 2013/14 run came in the semi-final against Wigan, so we certainly couldn't underestimate our lower league opponents. Sanchez grabbed two goals to ensure a second successive FA Cup final, although an error from goalkeeper Adam Federici did help ease the nerves.
We saved our best performance for the final and, although Aston Villa were very poor, we still deserve a lot of credit for an excellent and thoroughly professional Wembley display. Theo Walcott set the ball rolling before a Sanchez stunner doubled our advantage. Goals from Mertesacker and Giroud completed the rout as we became the most successful team ever in the competition I love - the FA Cup.
PREMIER LEAGUE
We finally managed to shake off fourth place but is third really that much better? It means avoiding having to play a two-legged play-off to reach the group stages of the Champions League but, ultimately, it still means no silverware in the league. A 10-match unbeaten run starting in January was a big highlight for us and, along with victories over Manchester City and Liverpool, proves we can compete with the top sides. But failing to beat Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, finishing 12 points off the top and a blip around November-December shows we also have a lot of work to do if we are to mount a serious title challenge.
We lost the same amount of games as last year's champions Manchester City - seven - but some of those were inexcusable. As much as the two defeats to Swansea hurt they are a tough nut to crack and there were other defeats that hurt a lot more. I'd have liked to have seen us give Chelsea much sterner tests, especially than the poor performance we put in in our 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge. The defeats that hurt the most, however, are the 2-1 home loss to Manchester United, the derby loss to Spurs and our horror show at Stoke.
The home defeat by Manchester United was tough to take as not only are they big rivals of ours but we actually performed very well for most of the game yet still ended up with nothing to show for it. Defeats to bitter rivals Spurs are always a bitter pill to swallow and February's 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane was no different. But arguably the defeat that felt like the biggest kick in the balls was the 3-2 loss at Stoke. Yes, we showed a lot more hunger in the second half to reduce the deficit to 3-2 but the first half was one of the worst performances I have witnessed from us in recent years. We well and truly fell apart and it was inexcusable. These defeats were the reasons we ended up off the pace and four victories behind Chelsea and something we definitely have to make sure doesn't happen again. Losses are part and parcel of a football season but when some were ones that clearly could've been prevented it is very frustrating. One of the reasons why some fans are getting impatient and why some are getting on Arsene Wenger's backs, even though I personally want him to stay, is because of our lack of being able to mount a more serious title challenge.
But it wasn't all total doom and gloom in the league. Yes, we should've done far better and provided Chelsea with a sterner challenge for the title we shook off the annoying norm of finishing fourth and, more importantly, proved we can beat some of the other big sides. Winning 2-0 at Manchester City was a truly superb result and one we should use a motivation in the future as proof we can beat the other sides vying for silverware if we cut the silly mistakes out of our game. Tactically Wenger and the players got that match spot on but we need to be able to do this a lot more.
I still feel mixed about our Premier League campaign but am ultimately left feeling disappointed that we were not closer to Chelsea's points total. Some of this was down to injuries, some can be blamed on the manager and players and others we must simply credit the opposition for being better on the day. But some could've been prevented and we need to make sure we are even more switched on next season.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
After qualifying for the group stages with a narrow 1-0 aggregate win over Besiktas, we secured a relatively easy passage into the knock-out rounds with a second-place finish in Group D. We only lost out on top spot by goal difference in what was a rather mixed group stage. We beat Galatasaray twice comprehensively and Aaron Ramsey scored one of our best goals of the season in the away tie. Anderlecht were the side I expected to take six points from but we had to rely on a late smash-and-grab to win 2-1 in Belgium and threw away a three-goal lead in a 3-3 draw at the Emirates. The top of the table clashes against Borussia Dortmund were mixed. We started the campaign with a 2-0 defeat in Germany and one of our worst performances of the season. But goals from Yaya Sanogo and Sanchez helped us gain revenge with a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture.
We were given a dream tie in the round of 16 as we were drawn against Arsene Wenger's former club AS Monaco. But yet again it was a case of a poor first leg and a too little too late fantastic second leg. After going 2-0 down at home, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored in stoppage time. In fact, had it stayed like that and the second leg panned out as it did we would've progressed. But as it was we didn't as after pulling it back to 2-1 we switched off and allowed Monaco to get a third goal. So we travelled to France with a 3-1 deficit but I still remained strangely upbeat. We had had the same scenario the year before, albeit against stronger opponents in Bayern Munich, and we only lost on away goals so I thought surely against Monaco we must have a chance. Goals from Giroud and Ramsey gave us a 2-0 win in France but again we ended up losing on away goals. No disrespect to Monaco but this was really a tie I thought we would win but it was the first-leg performance rather than the result that hurt most. Had we not been so naive in the first leg at home things could've been very different. Another annoying factor was, that once we had levelled the scores on aggregate, there was still time to push for a winner. Rather than go all out to get a winner whether it was a long-range strike or a tap-in we seemed content with playing tippy tappy football for the final minutes and it didn't achieve anything. The Champions League campaign can be summed up in a rather predictable fashion as per previous seasons as a case of what 'might have been'.
LEAGUE CUP
Don't get me wrong, I always want us to go all the way in every competition we compete in but I see the League Cup more as an extra bonus if we win and not something I care deeply about. Nevertheless it was still very disappointment to see us exit the competition early following a third-round home defeat by Southampton. We took the lead through a wonderful Sanchez free-kick, only to be pegged back by a Dusan Tadic penalty. A Nathaniel Clyne wonder goal settled the tie in what was a largely forgettable Capital One Cup campaign for us.
COMMUNITY SHIELD
I find the Community Shield a bit of a strange competition despite the fact I was absolutely delighted to see my beloved Gunners start the season with silverware. The competition is the traditional curtain raiser to the season which sees the league champions take on the FA Cup holders. The competition itself doesn't mean all that much to many fans but lifting silverware, especially against a fellow Premier League giant, is always great to see. For me the biggest positive wasn't just the 3-0 win, and the well-taken goals from Santi Cazorla, Ramsey and Giroud, but the magnificent performance and being able to prove we can beat our big rivals. In three games against Manchester City this season we won two and drew one, scoring seven and conceding just two, something I must admit I am rather proud of my team for.
IN SUMMARY
A case of so near yet so far again in the Premier League and Champions League but we at least ended the season on a high with another glorious FA Cup win. As good as it feels to win two FA Cups in a row and having the trophy drought monkey well and truly off our backs, we really must compete more serious in the league and in Europe. With a few shrewd additions we may be able to do this but there is still plenty more work to be done.
COME ON YON GUNNERS
No comments:
Post a Comment